Chapter 1
Odor (スメル, Sumeru) is the 1st chapter of the manga Black Joke. Characters *Kiyoshi Kira *Douji Kodama *Runover *Kensuke Todome *Salitt Po Puramuk *Stinder Gen Norasin Summary An unknown figure begins to describe Neon Island, an artificial island off the coast of Japan, the current 51st state of the United States of America, and the only place on Earth where prostitution and gambling are legal. Over the years, Neon Island became a tourist attraction more popular than Las Vegas. However, in an "adult amusement park" such as Neon Island is not free from it's trouble with mafias from all over the world. At the hotel and casino Onsen, a waiter reports trouble in the VIP room to his manager, Kiyoshi Kira. In the VIP room, a group of men are fooling around with some women, and seemingly forcing them to do what they want. Kira interrupts the groups party, with his partner Douji Kodama, in tow. Kodama steps up to the group, who tell him they are going to kill him, causing him to make quick work of all of them. Kodama holds one of the men by his collar, leaving the rest dead on the floor, and asks Kira which of them he should keep alive as a warning. Kira is confused by this question, as the man Kodama is holding up is the only one left alive. Kira tells him to think of the person who will be tasked with cleaning up all the remains. As Kodama walks with Kira, he notes that the hotel has been getting many customers from the Kansai region recently. Because the people of the Kansai region were not able to set up on Neon Island, they want to integrate at all costs, believing everything goes simply because they're native Japanese. Kira stops and looks at a woman he seems to know, noting that she is wearing new earrings, and that they match the color of her lipstick. As the woman leaves, Kira gets a call from his boss. Kira mentions to Kodama that of all the organizations on Neon Island, theirs is the only one that can compete with the mafia. Before he can finish his sentence, a man in a wheelchair, whom Kira identifies as Runover, passes by them. Kira begins to reflect on what he knows of the wheelchair bound individual. Runover, who is the mafia boss in the city of Naples, Italy, was left in his current condition after a bomb set off by someone close to him made him lose the use of his legs. From that point on, Runover began to modify his wheelchair with weapons and the like, and pursued the perpetrator, who had fled in a Ferrari. Runover used his wheelchair by running over the man's car, thus gaining his nickname. In the office of Kensuke Todome, Kira's boss, Kira and Kodama are instructed to "take care of" a few customers who were sent to Onsen with the task of killing Runover. Kira looks over the profiles of the men, Salitt Po Puramuk and Stinder Gen Norasin, two expert martial artists from Thailand, he wonders why Runover is requesting that these men be dealt with when he could easily kill them himself. Todome states that, from his understanding, Runover does not want to approach them, as they tend to use too much perfume. Todome asks Kira to "deliver" the men to Runover, and that it is unimportant whether or not they are alive. Kira and Kodama sit in a car in Onsen's parking lot, waiting for the hitmen to arrive. Kodama wonders why they are waiting there, since they have the key to the room the men are staying in. Kira, wondering of Kodama ever listens, states it's because Todome doesn't want the room to be dirtied. Kodama asks Kira what style martial art Puramuk and Norasin use. Kira comments that the two men have mastered many types of weapons, and that they (along with their odor), are quite strong. Kodama assures himself that he can still take care of them. Puramuk and Norasin walk up to Kodama hand in hand. As they take their stances, Kodama notes that the two Thai men surely aren't amateurs, and is ready to see what they can do. However, before he gets his chance, the two men are run down by a car. Kira, stepping out of the driver's seat, tells Kodama that they shouldn't be wasting their time, and to tie the two men up and put them in the back of the car. Kodama stares in shock, but otherwise complies. In the car, Kira comments that he would prefer to deliver the two men alive, so Runover can interrogate them and do with them what he wants after the fact. Kira comments to himself that he has no idea what the two men reek of. In the back seat of Kira's car, Puramuk comments to Norasin that they should have just shot the two Onsen staff. The two begin to argue in Thai over whose fault it is that they didn't succeed in their assignment, until Kira shuts them up, saying that the more excited they get, the more their smell spreads, causing the men to express surprise that Kira speaks their language. As the smell in the car spreads, Kodama has decided he has had enough of the men tied in the back, and unloads his clip into them. Kira scolds Kodama, asking him if he thought the smell would go away if they were dead. Kodama asks if it really mattered, since Runover didn't care if they were alive or dead. Kira, still angry, exclaims that that isn't the point, and that he's going to be the one who has to clean his car of two dead bodies. Kira and Kodama deliver the two men to Runover, their remains mangled in a body bag. As they prepare to dump the remains into the nearby bay, Runover comments that this is exactly the reason the fish in the bay are dying. As the men dump the chopped up remains, they continue to talk about the stench, and whether or not the remaining fish will go anywhere near them. Navigation Category:Chapters Category:Volume 1